Let’s Talk Turkey
September 17, 2004
After the devastating 1997 campaign-finance scandal that publicly scapegoated the entire APA community and vilified every single Asian donor who participated in Democratic Party politics, wouldn’t you think that APA fundraisers and contributors today take extraordinary precautions to ensure that their contributions clearly meet the tests of legality and propriety?
It is bad enough that I still hear of incidents in which legitimate, unknown contributors with Asian surnames are suspects and red-flagged by campaign personnel and the media.
The recent case of an elected state official and an S.F. Chinese American activist’s organization raises questions about the use of public grants by nonprofit entities. The controversy could result in a backlash against so many worthy APA nonprofit organizations that receive public grants.
I would like to see a firm like Minami, Lew & Tamaki or attorneys with a similar political background develop a service or practice that specializes in the Fair Political Practices Act. One of the most qualified APA attorneys to provide such a service is Mark Morodami. However, he is currently a deputy city attorney with the city of Oakland. Morodami was the former chief deputy of the Fair Political Practices Commission and is one of the most respected FPPC experts in California.
There should also be training and education in all the APA political-leadership workshops and articles in the ethnic media on the legal guidelines for campaign contributions. Candidates who are seeking contributions from this community also have an obligation to make sure many of the new immigrant contributors understand the rules completely.
Our community has every right to participate in the political process without prejudice, but let’s try to help ourselves by doing it the right way.
TWO APA TARGETS: In truly democratic fashion, Democrats are targeting Republican Assemblywoman Shirley Horton of Chula Vista, San Diego, while Republicans are targeting Democratic Assemblywoman Carol Liu of La Canada/Flintridge. An added dynamic is that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is endorsing Liu’s opponent while simultaneously endorsing Horton. Unfortunately, we only have a total of seven APA legislators in California, and two of them face serious challenges in this election.
HEAD PUBLIC SERVANT IN CHARGE: The California State Personnel Board has appointed Floyd Shimomura, former national director of the Japanese American Citizens League, as its executive officer. Shimomura’s distinguished career in state government includes service with the office of the attorney general and as chief counsel for the Department of Finance and the board, which oversees the state’s civil service system of approximately 250,000 employees.
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